2013 has been a pretty wild year. Montreal went through some pretty crazy shit, the summer's city-wide water warning and a few explosions being two of many. But what didn't kill us made us stronger, and 2013 saw some of the most epic parties and musical acts Montreal has ever hosted. Osheaga was bigger and better than ever, some solid new bars opened to change the nightlife scene, and concerts were galore. No doubt 2014 will bring the same amount of epic-ness, but before we say goodbye to 2013, let's take a second to remember all the magnificent moments that made 2013 such a memorable year.
To relive the magic of the past year MTL Blog has compiled the 50 most memorable Montreal moments of 2013. Remember that night, that show, and that party as we take you down Montreal's memory lane.
No More BYOB @ Piknic Electronik
When: April 28th
Where: Piknic Electronik (Parc Jean-Drapeau)
Why: We couldn't bring our own beer and wine anymore. 'Nuff said.
Fiston: A Very Real & Funny Web Series
When: Began 2012, exploded in 2013
Where: Exclusive web series on MSN Video
Why: Every single one of his episodes makes us keep wanting more. We laugh at his brutal honesty. If you're going to watch one French series this year, this is the one. Watch them now >
Gigantic Sinkhole Swallows Backhoe
When: August 7th
Where: Guy/St. Catherine
Why: Potholes evolve into machine devouring sinkholes and Montreal's construction corruption is more evident than ever. Traffic gets nuts.
Dave Chappelle at Just For Laughs
When: July 24th-July 28
Where: JFL Comedy Festival (Place des Art's Théâtre Maisonneuve)
Why: In a surprise nine shows Chappelle sold 14,221 tickets, breaking the festivals record and made the city laugh harder than ever before.
Food Trucks Roll Out To Feed The City
When: June 20th
Where: All over the city
Why: After a 60 year ban, food trucks once again graced the streets of Montreal, feeding hungry citizens awesome food.
Champlain Bridge Constantly Breaking
When: Ongoing
Where: Brossard + Montreal
Why: Repairs and construction reach new levels of frustration for commuters. One man even opens a helicopter ride service.
Mosaica Cultures at the Botanical Gardens
When: June 22-September 29
Where: Montreal's Botanical Gardens
Why: Global horticultural talent showed off right here in Montreal, plus giant grass people. Even Hugh Jackman was impressed.
City-wide Water Boil Advisory
When: May 22nd
Where: All over the city
Why: 36 hours of no water left the city no choice but to drink beer and because of a "whoops" moment.
1st Annual MURAL Festival
When: June 13th-16th
Where: St. Laurent/Prince Arthur
Why: Outdoor party and live creation of 4 awesome murals showcase Montreal's graffiti art and talent. See more pics and recap here.
Firework Factory Explosion
When: June 20th
Where: Coteau-du-lac
Why: B.E.M. fireworks factory ignites and explodes for hours.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il-XL9N5nXw
Osheaga 2013 Breaks Attendance Records
When: August 1-3
Where: Parc Jean-Drapeau
Why: So packed, so sweaty, so fun. An Osheaga never to forget. Relive all of the photo memories (Part 1 & 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PAfcLVnR-5c
#Coderring
When: November 4th
Where: The Montreal Twitter-sphere
Why: The city reacts to its newly elected mayor, with hilarious results. Get the original story and #coderring defined.
Apt. 200's Opening Night
When: September 26th
Where: 3643 St. Laurent
Why: No more Ballroom as St. Lo gets the coolest new bar in a long while. Read our initial coverage and see all the photos since.
Film POP's PFFR: LEGACY 2112
When: September 28th
Where: Film BOX
Why: PFFR's John Lee shows a huge mix of media awesomeness, including a never-before-seen episode of the hilarious Wonder Showzen.
Announcement and Proposal of the PQ's Charter of Values
When: Announced May 22nd, officially proposed September 10th, 2013
Where: Montreal
Why: Restricting the freedom of expression for many Montreal citizens, Bill 60 sparks a city-wide controversy and more than a few protests.
Priape and Le Drugstore Close Their Doors
When: October 25th
Where: The Village
Why: While Priape reopened a week later, two Montreal Village-staples shut down, largely due to high rents.
Mos Def Crushes Le Belmont
When: July 19th
Where: Le Belmont
Why: The cunning lyricist and musical heavyweight graces the stage of Le Belmont for an awesome summer show. If you didn't go, check it out here.
Bass Drive Wednesdays takes over Piknic Electronik
When: July 21st
Where: Piknic Electronik (Parc Jean-Drapeau)
Why: The intense energy and sexy vibes of the Belmont's weekly event takes over Piknic in an unforgettable musical mash-up of DJ sets and summer sun. Check out the photos here >
Pastagate
When: February 14th
Where: Buonanotte (3518 St. Laurent)
Why: Language laws go next-level ridiculous when the word 'pasta' is attacked for not being French and becomes a city-wide joke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=d2py6GukWHE
Kanye West Cancels Montreal Performance
When: November 6th
Where: Whatever reality Kanye West lives in/Montreal
Why: Despite Kanye's craziness, many a Montrealer was heartbroken by his cancellation of his Nov. 14th Bell Center show.
Beaux Degats Relocates to Foufounes
When: March 2013
Where: Foufounes Electroniques
Why: A new year and new location for Beaux Degats Art Battle. Check out the inaugural night here.
Beatles in Montreal Exhibit
When: March 29th-present
Where: Mariners' House
Why: A new generation of Montrealers get to relive the magic of having one of the most historic bands ever in their home city.
Oysterfest 2013's Oyster Shucking Competition
When: September 8th
Where: Old Port
Why: A day of oysters and caesars had shuckers from Japan to Denmark competing for the title of Oyster King. Relive the magic here.
Feist's Zero Charge Jazz Fest Show
When: June 28th
Where: TD Stage @ Place des Festival
Why: Feist kicks of Jazz Fest with an entirely free show, her first at the festival since 2005.
Helm Brewery Launches Hutchison IPA @ Beerfest 2013
When: May 29th to June 2nd
Where: Palais des congrès of Montreal
Why: At 7.5% and super delicious, the Hutchison IPA can still be consumed at Helm now, thanks to rave reviews. Also, everyone got hammered at BeerFest.
A Tribe Called Red + Tommy Kruise at M for Montreal
When: November 21
Where: Société Des Arts Technologiques
Why: Kicking off the weekend, both acts started the M for Montreal pre-weekend off right with two killer sets.
Rob Zombie Raging @ Heavy MTL
When: August 11th
Where: Heavy MTL (Parc Jean-Drapeau)
Why: Rising from the grave, Rob Zombie rocked Heavy MTL and showcased his newest album.
Policeman Photographed Bitchslapping an Oil Pipeline Protester
When: October 10th
Where: Enbridge Inc. Building
Why: The police cracked down on peaceful protesters, and things got not-so-peaceful soon after. Check out more protester vs. police action.
Under Pressure Weekend
When: August 10th-11th
Where: St. Cats/St. Laurent area
Why: Montreal's best graffiti artists, awesome DJ's, and serious eats from Diablos BBQ made for one of the best weekends of the summer. Relive the magic here and here.
Taste MTL Does Everything Maple
When: November 1st-11th
Where: City-wide
Why: Tourisme Montréal and over 125 restaurants took on the challenge of incorporating Quebec maple syrup into their menus, proving maple is good with everything.
Black Tiger Sex Machine @ Jazz Fest
When: June 28th
Where: Club Soda
Why: The Montreal band showed Jazz Fest isn't just for jazz, killing it at Club Soda
Station 16 Robbery
When: Sometime between November 2nd-4th
Where: 3523 St-Laurent
Why: Over $50,000 of artwork stolen from Montreal's urban art gallery. Check out some of the stolen works below.
Montreal Almost Has First Trans/Ex-Prostitute City Official
When: October 18th
Where: Pleateau-Mont Royal
Why: Melanie Joly Group made waves during the Mayoral election for nominating a controversial candidate...before removing Bibiane Bovet days later. Relive the moment.
Asshole Berates Muslim Woman On a Bus
When: August 28th
Where: Bus 69
Why: When people wondered who exactly supported the Charter of Values, this video made citizens painfully aware. See it here.
Hardwell Takes Over Beach Club
When: September 1st
Where: Le Beach Club
Why: With record numbers, EDM master Hardwell makes Le Beach Club hotter than ever before.
Justin Trudeau at the MTL Pride Parade
When: August 18th
Where: The Village
Why: Liberal leader Justin Trudeau shows his pride in the 2013 Pride Parade, alongside 130 floats and men in assless chaps. See more prideful activities here.
Romados Returns
When: July 12th
Where: Romados (115 Rachel)
Why: After months of being closed, Romados, home of the crack-chicken, reopens. The city goes nuts. See the full story here.
Suwu's Breakfast Club Launch
When: May 26th
Where: Suwu (St. Laurent/Prince Arthur)
Why: Drunch (drunk brunch) became a thing with Suwu's endless mimosas. Sundays officially became cool in Montreal.
Unveiling of New Metro Cars
When: November 25th
Where: Montreal
Why: After 50 years the STM revealed their plan to introduce new cars starting in 2014. Big news for commuters. Even Marois looks pumped.
Verdun Gets First Bar in 100 Years
When: May 14th
Where: Verdun
Why: Verdun got a Benelux, the first bar in the area since 1875. Citizens were happy for obvious reasons.
#BigBlueBang
When: November 26th
Where: Montreal's West Island
Why: A random sonic boom and flash over the West Island had the city speculating the origin, from aliens to the rapture. The #bigbluebang just turned out to be a run of the mill meteor.
Quebec Corruption Inquiry Hits City Hall
When: May 17th
Where: City Hall
Why: Fed up with sinkholes, an official corruption inquiry is initiated at Montreal's city hall. Needless to say, many were arrested.
Target Comes to Montreal
When: September 17th
Where: All over Canada
Why: Goodbye Zellers, hello Target. Montrealers reep the savings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=34r6RGF2JLA
Lachine Powerline Fireball
When: November 1st
Where: Lachine
Why: Not only is it super cool looking, someone managed to capture the destruction on video. Even people in Germany saw it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=j7-lGJ0yq9k
Harlem Shake Dominates Montreal
When: February-March 2013
Where: All over Montreal
Why: From subways, to McGill, to Mount Royal, Montreal showed how it can Harlem Shake like no other city. We even tried to break the world record >
Paul Desmarais' Memorial
When: December 3rd
Where: Notre Dame Basilica
Why: Montreal/Canada's elite come out to Old Montreal to mourn the passing of one of Canada's most powerful businessmen.
Star Trek Captains Reunite at Montreal Comiccon
When: September 15th
Where: Palais des Congres
Why: Captain Kirk and Picard made fans have a nerdgasm as the two illustrious captains answered questions. No fight to the death, unfortunately.
Cronuts Invade Montreal
When: September
Where: La Cornetteria (6528 St. Laurent)
Why: The fried food fad dessert breaks on the Montreal food scene. Known as the 'cronetto' and first made by La Cornatteria, the delicious dessert adds weight to many around the city.
Surprise Arcade Fire Concert
When: September 9th
Where: Salsatheque
Why: Out of nowhere, the Montreal mega-band held a show for 100 lucky fans, but only if they were wearing formal attire.
Lunice and Rockie Fresh Make Apt. 200 Amazing
When: November 9th
Where: 3643 St. Laurent (Apt. 200)
Why: Saintwoods took the city by surprise with their high energy houseparty featuring Montreal's Lunice. Witness the debauchery.
